Antrozorous
by Lionpuppeh
Summary: The moment it was clear that the castle had been locked to make sure nothing came in - or out - was the same moment Squall Leonhart should have realized there was a storm coming.  The fall of Radiant Garden
1. Chapter 1: The Scooby Crew

_A/N: I've always wanted to write out what could have happened in the fall of Radiant Garden. After BBS, I got super excited when I realized that Leon would have been the same age as Isa when Radiant Garden fell. That means that Leon could have theoretically been friends with both Isa and Lea!_

_This is going to be canon in my mind until we find out exactly how it all went down in BBS v2. A massive, massive thank you to my Beta DigitalTart for going over this with a fine tooth comb and giving out suggestions. =)  
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><p><em>Disclaimer: Nomura owns everything. But it would be nice if he could throw us a bone about when the next KH game will come out...<em>

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><p><span>Chapter One: The Scooby Crew<span>

Sixteen-year-old Squall Leonheart occasionally wondered what precisely it was in his heart that made him chose the friends he had now. Sure, Isa was definitely more his speed, but Lea? He didn't know if he wanted to face palm or smack him across the head half of the time. And yet Isa seemed to be quite satisfied with their little trio.

So what was it that was making Squall question his choices today? Oh yes, his current situation: he was standing in front of the locked gates to the Radiant Garden Palace with Isa, Lea, and two girls much younger than them. The back courtyard was almost as empty as a tomb under the partly cloudy sky, except for one or two people passing by. They paid little attention to the small group of people who were standing clustered together by the gates. Squall had no idea why no one had yet to notice them.

Personally, Squall blamed Lea's habit of picking up "stray puppies" for the presence of the girls.

Squall glanced at the two young girls and sighed. Lea and Isa apparently knew the youngest (something about the girl and her grandma being Lea's neighbors). She looked no older than five, and was peering curiously up at everyone with wide eyes. The older one had been keeping an eye out on her younger companion, as the tiny girl had wandered over and innocently demanded to know what Squall and his friends were up to.

They were plotting to break into the castle.

Over the past month, gossip around the town had started to spread when the headstrong teenage daughter of Ansem the Wise, Elenar, quite abruptly moved out of the castle and into a small cottage of her own at the edge of town. She had taken only as much as she could carry. The gossip ranged from wild tales to downright malicious ones about the girl's morality, the latter coming from some rather cruel girls that Squall knew from the orphanage. Lea, the only one out of the three teenage boys that was really friends with Elenar (and that was using the term 'friends' very loosely), shut them up quite firmly, defending the hot-tempered blonde. Upon quietly asking Lea the real story, the redhead sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair.

"It's not my place to say, Squall. But I can tell you this...I've never heard Elenar talk about her dad's apprentices with so much hatred in her voice before."

Not only did that single statement pique Squall's interest about the mysterious goings-on of the castle, but it gave new drive to Lea and Isa's consistent attempts to try and break in. At first, it had been because of juvenile attempts to become one of Ansem's legendary apprentices, engineered by Lea. Squall tended to prefer to stay out of those little 'adventures,' mostly because the idea of joining an elite group of people like Ansem's apprentices was never his style.

But over the course of a month, not a single member of Radiant Garden had heard, seen, or had any contact with their serene ruler. A new type of gossip was spreading, and it was one that was slowly starting to cause panic in their otherwise pristine world.

What if there wasn't anyone in the castle?

The idea of Radiant Garden without a ruler would cause political unrest and chaos the quicker it spread. After almost two weeks without hearing from any of the castle's residents, people began to attempt to break into the majestic castle, but not a soul could get the massive padlocks on the front and back main gates to open. Initially, the groups that started to come round the clock each day numbered roughly half a dozen. Two days later, that number had tripled. Radiant Garden had a very limited police force, and what little there was of law enforcement quickly became overwhelmed with the growing number of groups at the gates, attempting to break in. By the end of the week of the first attempt to break into the castle, the head of Radiant Garden's small law enforcement team had immediately placed a ban on people trying to break into the castle, and left that as a task meant for themselves.

Yet even then, Captain Quistis Trepe had an overwhelming amount of responsibility on her hands. It was, Leon reflected as he stood at the gate with his friends and the two young girls, a miracle that the city had yet to riot. Quistis's leadership over the past month had successfully managed to prevent a riot, but nobody knew for how long that would last.

Quitis sent two officers to attempt to break in, and rotated them between the morning, afternoon, and evenings. She did this on a constant and daily basis. When the officers began to despair and look to take a break, there were usually a handful of citizens looking to encourage them and cheer them on. Sometimes, an occasionally angry and panicked member would start harassing the officers, but they were calmed down before anyone was seriously hurt. Sometimes, Squall would see Quistis herself hard at work, either trying to get the lock open or patrolling the outer perimeter looking for a way inside.

When Squall had hidden in the bushes with Lea and Isa, the both of them trying to persuade Lea that his "undeniable charm" would, in fact, not work to persuade Quistis's gruff officers that the three of them should be given a shot at unlocking the padlock, the officers were immediately called away by one of their co-workers. The woman's face looked incredibly worried, and while she was talking to the other two officers at the gate, Leon caught the words 'outside the castle.' That was when both of the men at the gate promptly drew out their weapons and followed the woman out of the courtyard. When it was obvious the coast was clear, Leon, Lea, and Isa bolted out of the bushes and rushed up to the gate. The young girls had appeared moments later.

Lea was convinced that him, Squall, and Isa would be the ones to finally break through the gates and find out why Ansem and his apprentices hadn't been heard from in a month. Squall wasn't so sure. Squall however, was becoming unsure about a great number of things over the past month. His girlfriend had taken to staying with him overnight, fretting over a number of conversations that she had begun to eavesdrop on. Apparently her father and some of his friends were planning a forced invasion, unsatisfied with the way the Chief was handling things. At first, Squall was skeptical. Rinoa's father was one of the richest men in the city, but he didn't have enough clout to gather a full-blown rebellion together.

He had changed his mind when he had come to Rinoa's place to pick her up on a date three days ago. Cid Highwind and Vincent Valentine had been sitting at the kitchen table with Rinoa's father, the three of them looking incredibly secretive. Leon knew firsthand that Cid and Rinoa's father had a very difficult time getting along with each other.

"Lock picks?" Lea asked.

"Here." With an unceremonial flourish, Isa handed over a ragtag collection of jagged items that included straightened and bent paperclips, and hairpins donated by girls of the orphanage Squall lived in (courtesy of Squall). All of them were slipped in a bundled mess on a worn key ring. Isa then handed to Lea a thin, sharply bent slab of metal.

Lea beamed at Isa before frowning at the metal piece. "What's this?"

Isa raised an eyebrow. "A tension wrench. You need it to pick the lock properly."

"Oh right!" Lea grinned at his close friend. "I knew that." Has he took the key ring and the tension wrench, the metal pieces on the key ring jangling as he immediately picked a thick, straight blade, sliding it in the lock and wiggling it around.

"Aren't you supposed to put your ear near the lock?"

Everyone looked down at the small girl except Lea, who just continued to fiddle. "Why?"

The small girl shrugged. "Cid from across the street said you havta hear a clicking noise. Then you know you've unlocked the padlock!"

Lea blinked, and turned his head to look down at the girl. "Cid said that?"

The small girl nodded. "Mmm-hmm!"

The older girl frowned, straightening the hem of her blue and white lace dress. "Kairi, where did you hear that?"

"Grandma cracked my window open the other night for fresh air when she tucked me in for bed," the girl explained. "Cid was talking to the neighbors outside about breaking into the castle." Kairi paused. "He was loud."

This earned a chuckle from the boys. Despite the sudden and uncomfortable churning in his gut, he smiled at Kairi. "That's Cid for you." Squall laughed quietly before turning to the older girl. "So why are you two here again?"

"I wanna see you guys break in!" Kairi said eagerly.

"I want to make sure Kairi doesn't get into any trouble. Her grandmother told me to watch her." The auburn haired girl looked no older than ten, and was incredibly soft spoken. "I'm Aerith, by the way."

"Isa," he said, and gave Aerith a nod. "This is Squall." Isa gestured to Squall, who smiled when Kairi gave him an enthusiastic wave. Isa then glanced at his red headed friend who was busy furiously wiggling the lock pick around. Isa then smirked at Lea, saying "And this is Lea, who's being an idiot and not picking the lock properly."

"Hey!"

Kairi giggled at Lea's indignant protests.

"I've never seen you pick one of these, you always have me do the work!" he complained.

Isa shrugged, his blue eyes dancing while the rest of his face remained stoic. "You're the one that wants to be ah—what was it, a jack of all trades? That includes picking locks."

Squall snickered. Lea scowled while Kairi scooted out from underneath Aerith's skirts and up to Lea. Lea frowned. "What?"

"I want to help!" Kairi piped up at him, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. Aerith smothered a giggle while Squall cracked a small smile, wondering vaguely what Kairi would look like if she were a puppy.

Lea, on the other hand, arched a brow at the small girl. "And what would you do to help me?"

"Listen for the lock to unlock! Grandma always said I had perfect hearing."

Lea sighed, resuming his previous task. He did, however, crack a smile. "Sure, why not. Just stay right where you are."

Except for rising on her tiptoes quite comically, Kairi did as she was told. After a few seconds, she gave a frustrated little huff. "Could someone pick me up please?"

Isa knelt down and hoisted Kairi up on his back so her ear could get closer to the lock. Squall gave a glance behind them.

"Hey guys," Squall said, pointing behind them. "There's a large group of people coming across the courtyard."

Isa turned and squinted before rolling his eyes. "Oh, they won't pay attention to us. It's just a group of fangirls all focused on Zack Fair and his 'heroic' travels."

Squall gave a snort. Zack was some mysterious warrior three years or so older than him, Isa, and Lea, that had come to Radiant Garden a few months ago. The story was that he had crash-landed on a ship from another world while in pursuit of his "quest to become a hero." While the story of the ship matched the strange occurrence of odd looking blocks falling from the sky not long before Zack's arrival, that still didn't stop Squall from rolling his eyes at the older teenager as he strutted around telling tales of angry dark gods, elemental titans, and three keyblade wielders that apparently made a big impression on him. While Zack simply wouldn't shut up about the blue haired female of the trio, the mention of the word keyblade perked an interest in Ansem and his apprentices, and there had been a short period of time where Zack had constantly been invited up to the castle. They had stopped about a month before Elenar made her strange exit.

Squall cringed outwardly at the high-pitched giggles of Zack's fans as the noise bounced around the courtyard. Kairi glanced towards the group, decided she wasn't impressed, and resumed her very intent listening of the lock.

"Argh, this is getting ridiculous!" Lea scowled.

Kairi jumped on Isa's knee, startled, as Lea dropped the clutter of picks in frustration.

Aerith frowned. "What is it?"

Lea stomped his foot angrily as Isa put Kairi down and stood up. "I found a pick that fits in perfectly, but the damn lock won't turn!"

"Well, that won't do us any good." Squall rolled his eyes. "You dropped the whole thing." He watched out of the corner of his eye as Zack led his troupe of giggling girls through the garden of the castle, around the corner, and out of sight.

Lea scowled again and looked at Squall. "You wanna try?"

"Wait!"

Everyone turned at Aerith's fearful protest. Her eyes were glued on some bushes at the edge of the courtyard. Out crept two small, strange creatures with yellow glowing eyes and black antennae. Three others were creeping behind the open gate at the far end of the garden. Squall's jaw locked.

Even the normally cool Isa looked slightly uneasy. "If we keep quiet, they'll just leave us alone."

Aerith grimaced. "Maybe we should go back to your grandmother's, Kairi, I don't like those creatures."

Kairi's eyes were locked onto the little black creatures. She was strangely silent for a few moments before finally responding. Her answer was surprisingly mature for a five year old. "I think...if we all stick together, we'll be ok." She moved away from Isa and grasped Aerith's hand reassuringly. Squall did, however, note the quiet fear in her eyes at the sight of the little black creatures.

Isa simply picked up the key ring. " You need to push up the pin in the lock Lea. That was probably your problem. Just sticking the lock pick in and wiggling it around won't do any good. Do you think you can remember which ones you tried?"

Lea handed Isa the tension wrench and the two of them debated over which picks Lea tried already. Squall glanced back at the courtyard and the gardens. The small black creatures had only started appearing around the castle roughly a week after Elenar's mysterious departure. They mostly crept around the gardens at night; appearing to enjoy dark, damp places. However, Squall couldn't help but notice how they were quietly multiplying after people saw the mysterious lack of activity in the castle. It was yet another thing for Chief Trepe to worry about. Squall had seen numerous posters around the streets of Radiant Garden looking for civilian recruits to work side by side with Quistis and her officers for a series of "special night missions." The civilian recruits would, of course, be trained rigorously for an unidentified period of time before they were able to go out on any mission with Quistis and her officers.

Squall's insides lurched uneasily. Were they doing the right thing by breaking in?

He turned to Aerith, who was looking at the castle windows with her brows furrowed. Squall looked at her curiously. "What is it?"

"Do you see her?"

"Who?" Squall followed the young girl's line of vision. The windows and curtains were drawn shut.

"There's someone in the castle. Or something." Aerith chewed on her lower lip, utterly perplexed. "It looked like a black and gree—"

"Yesssssssss!" Lea let out a triumphant yell that was immediately muffled by both Isa and Squall.

"Shhh!" Isa hissed. "We don't need everyone knowing that the door is finally unlocked!"

Squall felt a pair of small hands grip the material of his black pants. Kairi peered up at Lea and Isa. There was a light in her eyes, one that seemed to be simultaneously excited, curious, and fearful, as she peered past the group and gazed down the path to the castle doors. "Does this mean we get to go in?"

"Yep!" Lea grinned and gestured to Isa, who was pocketing the key ring. "You can thank Isa for that!"

"Well, don't thank me just yet, Kairi," Isa said as he gingerly pulled at the latch to the lock, which now came completely off. He let the padlock stay on the bar of the gate it was resting on while he worked to untangle the chains around them. Squall stepped forward to help.

Within seconds, the massive gate doors to the majestic castle at Radiant Garden creaked open. Everyone jumped at the loud noise the creaking made.

Squall couldn't help but grimace. "You sure you saw someone in there, Aerith?" He asked quietly. "These gates haven't been oiled in a while."

Aerith nodded, green eyes bright and searching as her eyes roamed the castle windows. "Positive."

"Well, what are we all waiting for?" Lea grinned encouragingly at everyone. "The mystery awaits us."

Isa rolled his eyes at his close friend, before smiling at Lea's enthusiasm, as everyone slipped in and began the walk up to the castle steps.

Squall raised an eyebrow. "You scared, Isa?" he teased, nudging the blue haired teen's shoulder gently. "Haven't you and Lea broken into this place five different times before?"

"Three." Isa allowed himself a small laugh as he corrected Squall. "Twice we made it up to the doors before we were caught. The third time we did manage to get in."

"How far did you get in?" Aerith asked. Kairi had gone back to clutching Aerith's hand, trotting obediently along with everyone else. She was looking rather contemplative as she stared at the steps a few yards ahead of them that led to a large platform for them to enter the castle.

"Pretty far," Lea said. "We managed to wander down into the basement, where we came upon a set of white double doors—pretty sure there was a lab inside. Then dumb ol' Dilan caught us and hauled us out by the scruff of our necks."

"Oh yeah," Squall grinned. "I remember that one. You kept whining about getting a wedgy."

Isa snorted at a nonplussed Lea while Kairi and Aerith giggled. "You did not. You're just being a big baby."

"Hey," Lea shrugged. "I'll call 'em like I see 'em!"

The walk down the long path and up the stairs was uninterrupted. Facing the massive, ornate blue and gold double doors, the motley group discovered a much larger gold padlock barring them from entrance.

"Quickly." Isa yanked out the key ring and the tension wrench from his pocket, the multitude of picks jangling loudly.

"You need me to do anything?" Squall asked, stepping forward.

"Ah—sure." Isa nodded. "See if you can try and lift the bolt upright for me."

Squall still kept half of his attentions on the rest of the group while Isa fiddled with the lock pick.

"Aerith?" Kairi asked. "Do you remember the blue monsters that came here?"

Squall did. It was a year ago. He used a massive club to try and get rid of them. They just reappeared elsewhere in the city, like a bunch of cockroaches.

"I do." Aerith nodded. "I mostly stayed inside after mother and I watched someone get attacked by one." She bit her lip at the memory, looking ashamed for a few moments. "I wish we could have helped."

"Oh." Kairi paused. "But they weren't there for long, were they? People with big weapons came and got rid of them."

Aerith nodded. "That's what people say."

"No, no, they really did!" Kairi was insistent on this. "Well, at least one person came. I dunno if there were really three though."

Squall looked at Kairi curiously. "You met one of these people?"

"Mhm!" Kairi's head bobbed up and down excitedly. "She had blue hair like Isa!"

"So Zack's 'warrior goddess' is actually real?" Isa snorted.

"I dunno about that," Kairi said. "But she saved me from the monsters. It was right here, too." Kairi added a little stomp of her feet for emphasis, to indicate that the encounter apparently took place right on the Castle platform. "And she gave me something."

"What did she give you?" Aerith asked Kairi.

Kairi put a hand to her dewdrop necklace and frowned. "I dunno what it was, but she put it in here. She said that it will help me."

"Oh, Zack and his warrior goddess," Lea snickered.

"Yeah," Isa clucked. "The one that might be 'my long lost sister' just because we both have blue hair. Ridiculous."

A loud click resonated from the golden padlock.

"Isa, you're a genius!" Lea breathed.

The normally humble Isa was looking rather pleased with himself. "Wow." Squall helped him untangle the chains around the padlock, and they yanked on the base. The latch lifted open effortlessly.

Kairi suddenly grew quiet. "Do you think we'll be able to find out what happened to Ienzo?"

Everyone grew somber. Ienzo was a well known kid around Aerith's age that had been living in the castle. Ienzo was primarily under the care of Ansem the Wise, but all of the apprentices were known to have a hand in raising him. Ansem and the other apprentices occasionally let the boy out to play in the gardens and the courtyard with the other kids. Kairi must have been one of Ienzo's playmates.

But no one had seen or heard about Ienzo for a month, just like Ansem and his five other apprentices.

"I think we'll find some clues," Squall found himself telling the little girl this reassuringly.

Kairi nodded. "Ok. Are we going to go in, then?"

With a hearty shove from Squall, Lea, and Isa, the blue and gold double doors creaked open, but with a much quieter noise than the gates had.

"Yep," Lea said. But what should have normally been an excited expression on his face was replaced by one that was wary.

"What is it?" Aerith asked.

"The one time we got into the castle," Isa said quietly. "It was through a basement side door hidden in a bunch of rose bushes. Lea and I tried looking for it before Squall met us here—but it vanished."

"There have been rumors that the apprentices know how to do magic," Squall offered as a reason.

"Then why didn't they seal the back door with magic on top of the padlock?" Aerith asked.

Silence enveloped the group. Then, Lea gave a laugh.

"I don't think there's anything to be worried about." He looked at everyone. A gleam of adventure in his eyes had replaced the uncharacteristic bout of wariness that was there a few moments ago. "Is everyone ready? Aerith? Kairi?"

"We'll find clues about Ienzo, right?" Kairi asked him.

"Positive." Lea nodded.

Kairi's response was to tighten her grip on Aerith's hand. "I'm ready." She looked up at Aerith.

The girl shrugged and adjusted the pink bow in her hair. "I'm not leaving you behind."

Kairi beamed.

As Squall pushed the door open wide enough to let everyone in, he noticed Kairi's dewdrop necklace emitting a faint glow. He stepped inside allowing the door to stay open wide enough for a faint crack of light to pour in.

There was no need. The clouds had apparently cleared, and the bright afternoon sun streamed through the stained glass windows leading up to the entrance hall, where it appeared that even more light existed. "Well," Lea said. "There's no turning back."

Isa nodded. "It doesn't look so bad, does it?"

Squall looked at Kairi's necklace again. He definitely wasn't imagining that faint glow of light coming from her necklace. And she was starting to look a little pale.

Aerith looked worried. "Kairi, you don't look so well."

Kairi leaned against Aerith and hugged the top of her legs. "I want to find Ienzo." She said stubbornly.

Squall took the first tentative steps forward. "Then let's go."

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><p><em>- This story is going to be split into three parts. As far as picking locks go, I know what Lea did in the beginning and Kairi's suggestions aren't quite right - I did that on purpose. Lea doesn't quite know what he's doing (while Isa does), and Kairi is just too cute to say 'no' to. It's impossible, her enthusiasm is contagious XDD. Any feed back is greatly appreciated.<em>


	2. Chapter 2: 160 BPM

_A/N: The title is inspired by the piece from Hans Zimmer, used in the soundtrack of Angels and Demons. I worked out much of this chapter while listening to the piece. Many thanks to my beta DigitalTart!  
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_Disclaimer: Nomura owns everything. Oh—and Disney owns some too XDDD Disney starts to pop up here._

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><p>The castle had been abandoned.<p>

The cobwebs covering the stairs and the furniture had bluntly given it away. The three teenage boys and the two young girls had crept around the main floor in a state of curiosity and shock, examining the dining and reception hall (with seven thrones, Leon noted with stark irritation), the kitchens, and two of the studies. The rooms were _all_ abandoned. When the group had walked into a study that clearly stored government papers and work on the city that looked like it hadn't been touched in weeks, everyone became uneasy at the increasingly clear proof that the rumors about their wise and just ruler were all true.

With that information sinking into their minds, Squall's growing paranoia began to wander towards weapons as the crew walked into the vast library—just in case. Meanwhile, everyone took a moment to gape when they entered the library.

"Wow," Aerith breathed in awe. Lush green carpet cushioned their steps, with shelves full of books that completely enveloped them.

Lea frowned. "I thought a wise and just ruler was supposed to educate their own people. Why did Ansem keep all of this from us?"

Isa chuckled. "What, like you want to stay in here all day and read these books?"

Lea snorted. "No, but still."

"Ienzo never liked it here either." Kairi said thoughtfully. "He said all Even had him do was read. He said it was getting repetita, repeti—" she stumbled over the word before plowing forward. "Repetitive."

"Reading is good for you," Squall said absentmindedly as he scanned the wide array of shelves. They were crammed to the brim with colorful tomes with different languages written on the spine of each book.

The little girl peered up at him curiously. "But all of the time?"

"Smart kid." Lea grinned, gently ruffling Kairi's hair and he strode ahead of the group. "To much of anything is bad for you. Even reading. You need to get out and enjoy the sun once in awhile."

"I love the sun!" Kairi piped up, letting go of Aerith's hand and trotting over to one of the stained glass windows where the light was pouring in. Despite her necklace still emitting faint glows, Kairi seemed to look a little better when she was standing in the sunlight. She smiled broadly "It makes me feel good!"

"She does look a little better under the sun doesn't she?" Aerith murmured to Squall. He gave Aerith a little smile and nodded.

Squall scanned the area with Isa. There was nothing but shelves and shelves of books and an occasional set of tables, chairs, and reading desks.

Isa called out to the others. "Things seem to be alright. Why don't we just wander around this floor of the library and meet back in," he checked his watch, "five minutes? That way someone can stay with Kairi."

Kairi was twirling around and giggling in the light from the stained glass windows, clearly in her own little dream world. She definitely was looking better by just standing in the warm sunlight.

_How odd, _Squall thought to himself_. I know a little bit of sun is good for everyone, but Kairi genuinely looks healthier under the sun. It's strange._

"Sounds good," Lea called back. "Squall, why don't you stay with Aerith and—"

"Hey Lea!" Kairi ran up and tugged on Lea's cargo pant leg. "Lea, Lea, didn't you say you thought you met one of the people Zack was talking about the other day?"

Squall raised an eyebrow while Isa smirked at his best friend. Aerith let out a small giggle at Lea's predicament. Lea, however, just gave a small exasperated sigh while smiling good-naturedly as he bent down to Kairi's eye level.

"I did," he said.

Kairi's eyes lit up in excitement. "Can you tell the story to me, please?"

Squall bit back laughter at the very good show of restraint Lea was showing as he realized that he'd be the one staying behind with the girls instead of exploring. Lea then focused his attentions on Kairi. People of all ages always had a habit of warming up quickly to Lea, especially smaller kids like Kairi. Squall knew that Lea didn't mind, but Lea was also the same age as Squall, and he knew Lea was less than pleased at the prospect of being held back from what he knew Lea considered to be an adventure of a lifetime. Regardless, Lea turned his attentions to Kairi. "Well, Isa and I were walking in the front courtyard and we found this kid around our age sitting by the gardens..."

Aerith came over to where Kairi and Lea were standing, in the light of the stained glass windows, while Lea wove his tale. She encouraged the three of them to sit down, and they got comfortable while Isa and Squall stood a few feet away watching them bemusedly.

"Let's leave 'Uncle Lea' to his story-telling," Isa chuckled. Squall smirked in response and the two teens began to poke around the library, making sure that they could still hear Lea, Kairi, and Aerith's voices.

"So," Isa said quietly while examining a row of books written in a language Squall didn't understand. "What do you think so far?"

"Honestly?" Squall's voice lowered. "I think something very wrong is going on here. Why did Ansem and all of his apprentices just abandon the castle like this? And the place that looks like Ansem's office..." he trailed off, remembering when they pushed open a set of large double doors made of oak and walked into a personal study—or at least what Squall thought might have been a personal study. There were scattered papers and books on the floor. Both the main desk and the chair was upturned and broken, while every single lamp, painting, and picture in the room was damaged. For a finishing touch, there were puncture marks on the walls and places in the room that looked like it was singed with either fire or pockmarked from bullets. Squall wasn't sure. They had left _that_ particular room quickly, because Kairi and Aerith became visibly frightened at the sight of the room in complete shreds.

"It looked like a crime scene without the blood, I know," Isa said, fingering the width of a particularly thick book. "Lea's wary too, but he's more excited over the fact that we've managed to get this far into the castle without getting caught."

Squall found that suspicious as well. Then he remembered Aerith mentioning she saw someone inside the castle. "Aerith thinks there's someone here."

Isa looked up, fingers on a lavender tome. "She saw someone?"

"Or something." Squall frowned, remembering Aerith's quiet, cut off words. "It looked like a black and gree—"

_A black and green monster?_

A loud lurch was suddenly heard from behind the shelf Isa and Squall were standing in front of. Both of them jumped back, startled as the lavender book Isa was fingering tilted back like a latch, and the entire bookshelf opened to reveal a brand new room sheathed in shadows.

"Is everything alright over there?" It was Aerith.

"Yeah," Squall said as both he and Isa pulled out the flashlights they'd packed simultaneously. Squall flicked his on. "Don't worry about it."

"Squall and I are going in to take a look," Isa added, and he flicked on his flashlight.

"Ok," Lea called out. "Don't take long." Squall hid a smirk as he detected a slightly put out tone in Lea's voice.

Isa grinned. "He'll get over it. He secretly loves entertaining Kairi."

The two of them shined their lights down what looked like a hidden pathway. There was an open door at the end, and an open door a small ways down to the left. The boys carefully walked down the path, shining their flashlights on every nook and cranny they could find. Even though they had only walked a few steps, Squall was starting to get on edge. He could have sworn he saw multiple pairs of yellow eyes blinking at him from the open door at the end of the pathway.

Isa didn't see them. He opened the door and let his flashlight peer in. "Hey look, a small armory!"

Squall followed Isa in and shone his beam on rows and rows of weapons, varying from guns to spears and swords. Isa paused in interest as he looked at a pair of crossed claymores tacked onto the wall over a suit of armor.

Squall, on the other hand, noticed a small handful of latched cases containing long, strange weapons. He unlocked one of them to reveal a long, wide, weapon pointed sharply at the end like a sword. He checked the handle. It was in the shape of a revolver.

"Wow, they've got extra gun blades stashed back here.." Isa was next to him looking at the weapon curiously. Upon further inspection, Squall discovered that his friend was right.

Isa's blue eyes glinted in excitement at Squall. "After you Mr. Gun blade wielder."

Squall rolled his eyes at Isa, but he smiled as he slowly slid the gun blade out of the case. The two of them were both in an intensive training program set up by the Radiant Garden guards. Spearheaded by the head guards, anyone who was as young as eight years old and were 'reasonably athletic,'the Royal Guard training program marketed itself as a self-defense program until participants became teenagers. Then the program made it plain that anyone else who went further would be trained to defend the Radiant Garden Castle. Those who continued were outfitted with their own personalized weapons and continued training with them. Squall worked best with the gun blade, which he had been using since he was 13. Isa went from having a broad sword to a claymore, which is what he preferred to train with. Isa took a few steps back to allow Squall to take a couple of swings with the gun blade, and position himself properly without hurting Isa. "For some reason the gun blade suits you, Squall. Do you think you'll keep up with it when we graduate from the academy?"

"Thanks, I think." Squall knew the age old trick to properly handling a weapon like the gun blade: Think of it as an extension of the body. " And yeah, I think I might. Do you think I should keep this with me?" Squall asked him. "Kairi would probably get creeped out by the gun blade, though."

Isa grunted a little as he hoisted a claymore from its position on the wall. There were multiple weapons set up in little patterns on the walls around them. "You sound more paranoid about there being monsters in here than I am." He said as he shifted his grip on the hilt.

"Well, you were in here once before," Squall said flatly as he swung the gun blade around in an arc before positioning the tip towards the ground. "Was it this creepy when you and Lea made it to the basement?"

"A little," Isa admitted. "But more in a 'creepy-scientist' sort of way, y'know? But I do agree with you," he added as he walked out of the small armory with the claymore in hand. Squall followed him, taking the gun blade with him. "There's something really off about this place. And the lack of people in the castle is only half of it."

"Wanna see the other half? Because it's standing right behind you!"

Squall and Isa whirled around, weapons in hand. Standing in the threshold of the open doorway was the fattest and ugliest creature Squall had ever seen. Wearing a strange outfit, he was towering in front the two teenage boys with a grin on his face that suddenly gave Squall an urge to punch him hard. Or run him through with the gun blade.

The creature let out a leer in the dimly lit hallway. "Pete's the name, terrorizin's the game. Your turn pipsqueaks! What're your names?"

But before Squall or Isa could say anything back, Kairi let out a blood-curdling scream in the library that made Squall's blood run cold. Then, the portal leading back out to the library slammed shut.

Both Squall and Isa jumped as the small hallway was coated in darkness, except for small, dim lights from torches lining the hallway, and the dozens of yellow eyes blinking behind Pete.

* * *

><p>"Well well well, look what we have here. Intruders."<p>

Aerith's insides coiled at the woman descending the steps before her, Kairi, and Lea. Actually, she really couldn't call her a woman. She was a creature, a witch with a female voice that made her breath catch in her throat in the worst ways possible. With green skin, a black horned head that was clutching a witch's staff with green spindly fingers, it was quite clear that she was the intruder of the castle, and not them. Aerith made sure to tell her so, adding that she should give Ansem and his apprentices back. After all, this dark creature was here, so she must be connected to the mysterious disappearance of Ansem the Wise and his apprentices.

The woman-creature merely laughed, turning the grip Kairi had on her skirts into a near death grip. Lea stood directly in front of Kairi and Aerith, shielding them and glaring at the horned witch.

"Why," she laughed, looking delighted at Aerith's defiant glower. "My dear child! Your leader and his disciples were _long gone_ before Pete and I arrived in your world."

Lea blinked. "Pete?"

That was when their ears picked up a series of bangs and loud yells from the closed portal Squall and Isa had gone through, indicating a fight. Aerith paled and hugged Kairi as close to her as she could.

Lea's face went white. "Squall! Isa!" he called.

He made a move to the library wall, but it simply went up in green flames with a snap of the witch's fingers.

"Fear not, my dear boy. Your heroic friends will be able to find their way out of the mess they foolishly walked into." She gave a soft laugh. "Fighting is not one of Pete's stronger points. But alas, he is good at other things. Like finding this rare treasure of light that you call your world, for example."

Aerith fought to keep the bile rising from her throat down as a bang issued from the closed corridor that shook the room. Kairi whimpered and clung to Aerith's legs like they were her life line, ignoring the feeling of something pressing warm and hot on the fabric that lay right below her knees.

Lea's voice shook. "What did you do with Ansem?"

"Like I said, I did nothing." The witch sounded amused. "Did you not listen to the rants of that bullheaded daughter of his? His apprentices turned on him."

_"What?"_

The answer came out as a choked out cry from both Aerith and Lea's mouths.

Ansem's apprentices turned on him? Never. The idea was inconceivable to Aerith, despite abruptly remembering how strange Ansem's newest apprentice was when she had once ran into him on the street with her friend Cloud. Young, with long white hair and yellow eyes, he looked at them as if they weren't really there, before continuing his trip back to the castle.

Lea, however, showed signs of being slightly more convinced. His green eyes slowly became wide and he took in a sharp breath.

Aerith's voice shook. "Y-you know Elenar?"

"Yeah." His voice was quiet.

"Why did she leave the castle?"

"She never gave me a straight answer." Lea lifted his eyes to meet Aerith's. Green on green. "She just kept talking about how much she hated her father's apprentices, and about his favorite one, Xehanort."

"What—" she paused and took a deep breath. "What did she say?"

"She said," Lea looked uneasy. "She said, _'next time I see one of them I'll kill them. I'll rip their hearts out with my bare hands for what they did to Dad...'_ And then she said something about his apprentices 'ruining Radiant Garden with their monsters.'

The witch looked delighted. "Ah, so _they_ were the ones that unleashed these creatures?" A number of small black creatures with black antennae and beady yellow eyes sprung up around her. "How fascinating. I heard they were studying the spiritual workings of the heart."

_The what? _Aerith was confused. "How—" she began to ask, but the witch interrupted her.

"Apparently, your ruler wanted to stop. And his disciples wanted to continue." The witch began to descend the stairs in a cloud of black and purple smoke, which came out from under her robes. The black creatures began to spring up from behind her.

With every step the witch took, Lea, Aerith, and Kairi took another step backwards. Kairi was now quaking so violently that Aerith struggled to pick her up with trembling hands. She was surprisingly light, but Aerith couldn't get a steady grip on her. Lea swiftly took Kairi from her, and the little girl burrowed her face in Lea's shoulder, trembling like a leaf against the wind.

Aerith's insides filled with fear as she let Kairi grip one of Aerith's hands, and she let her face peer fearfully at the older girl. The small girl looked deathly ill.

"Lea," she hissed.

"I know," he muttered, and his grip on Kairi became tighter.

Aerith gently squeezed Kairi's hand, trying to show her that it will be okay, they'll get out of here with Isa and Squall, and everything will go back to normal. _Anything_ that will stop Kairi from looking like she was going to drop dead at any moment.

Kairi merely whimpered at her and yanked out her dewdrop necklace. Aerith's eyes widened. It was emitting a bright, steady glow.

"Kairi..." Aerith whispered fearfully.

A series of loud bangs came again from the closed corridor, followed by a loud shout. Then it was silent.

Lea growled at the witch. She merely laughed.

"Your pitiful attempts at bravery will get you nowhere, boy. Now, what shall I do with the three of you?"

The crow perched on her shoulder flew around the trio like vulture spotting its prey. It let out a caw before swooping down on Lea, Aerith, and Kairi. Kairi let out an ear-piercing shriek at the exact same time a blast of light encircled the three of them, forming a bright barrier that the crow couldn't penetrate. The sudden blast caused Aerith to jump and hug Lea from behind to get under the barrier's protection. The crow let out a shriek, and then fled to its master.

The witch regarded Kairi with a newfound curiosity as the bright barrier shrunk... and disappeared into Kairi's necklace.

Aerith blinked in shock. Didn't Kairi say something earlier about an older girl giving her something that would protect her? That girl that had saved her from the blue monsters?

"How utterly fascinating," The witch mused. "Is that girl your sister?"

Aerith gave the witch the fiercest glower she could muster. Lea let out a nearly feral growl.

The witch appeared to be utterly nonplussed. "Hmph. No matter. She couldn't possibly be one of them." The witch seemed to be saying this more to herself than the three of them as she waved her hand over the orb perched on her staff. "She is far too young."

One of Aerith's hands slipped from Kairi's grip and tugged frantically on the fringes of Lea's scarf when she noticed the witch's orb glowing. "Lea, we need to go!"

"You three? Go?" The witch let out a bone-chilling laugh. "Such hearts filled with pure light like yourselves don't quite deserve to walk away unscathed. And yet." Her eyes hovered for a moment on Lea before she continued on, pausing mid-step. "No," she said. "No matter."

Lea's eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The witch smirked. "I've been in this castle for weeks, just waiting for the opportunity to unleash these monsters on this despicable speck of light you children call home. While your city has no use for me, this castle will work for a new home—with some alterations, of course." She added while glancing around the library bemusedly.

Aerith's mind raced. _This witch got in? But what about Chief Trepe's police force?_

Lea did the talking for her. "You got in while we've been trying to break into here for _weeks_?"

The witch's lips broke out into a broad, delighted smile that made Aerith feel ill. It was utterly ironic to her how white the witch's teeth looked when she smiled.

"Your leader's daughter placed some magic on the doors to try and lock her father's apprentices in the castle. _'To contain them'_, as she said to me when I interrogated her. She spoke of those men like they were diseased. Who knows?" the witch said idly. "They probably were. But her magic was no match for my powers. It was _quite_ fun, however, to watch your pathetic police force break in here."

Maleficent took another step down the stairs. "And then I saw you." She was staring straight at Lea. "Your persistence with your friend is really quite admirable. So I thought to myself," she said as she opened her arms grandly in what Aerith wondered vaguely was a purposeful show of dramatics, "why not give the boys a chance?"

The bottom of Aerith's stomach dropped out in horror, while Lea inhaled sharply and gripped Kairi even tighter. Aerith's voice dropped to a strangled whisper. "You let your magic down on purpose." She squeezed her eyes shut to prevent the tears from coming. "You _wanted_ us in here on purpose."

The witch's laugh was soft, yet toxic. "Very good my child," she said softly as she finished descending the stairs. "I thought the irony was fitting for this world's downfall. Radiant Garden's valiant police force can't get into the castle, and yet a group of meddling children break in to unknowingly unleash my heartless onto an unsuspecting city."

"No!" Lea gasped and he stumbled back with Kairi in his arms. He nearly fell, but regained his footing. Aerith struggled to help Lea steady himself. She jumped when a small, cold, and clammy hand found Aerith's and gripped on it hard.

It was Kairi's hand.

"I'd insist on an introduction of names," the witch said promptly as she waved her hand around the orb on her staff. "But you three won't be seeing me again anyway. Your hearts will be lost to the darkness."

Aerith's breath caught in her throat. The little black creatures were slowly multiplying behind the witch, and were multiplying at an increasing speed. Lea noticed as well, and the two resumed their pace in backing away, Lea still clutching Kairi tightly in his arms. Kairi turned her head a little and whimpered at the slight of the witch and the black creatures, her brightly glowing necklace hidden from the witch. Aerith, however, could see it. The necklace was glowing a little brighter than before.

Lea was at his tipping point and he snarled at the witch. "Where the hell are Isa and Squall?"

"Oh," the witch gave an oddly serene smile that looked downright dangerous as she airily waved a hand around. "Somewhere in this castle, fighting off my hordes of loyal minions. They've defeated Pete, I'm sure, but there's no way they'll escape these." She gestured to the black creatures around her that were proliferating even faster than before. "Such base creatures they are, consuming everything around them, just in the pursuit of a heart." The witch gave a tsk. "How sad. But lo and behold my loyal minions, there are three bright hearts right in front of us, just _waiting_ to be devoured!"

The bottom of Aerith's stomach dropped out again as a sinister grin slowly spread across the face of the green skinned witch. Kairi let out a long whimper. "Lea, Aerith..."

The witch's low command shot down Aerith's spine like lightning. _"Destroy them."_

Lea snatched Aerith's hand with the one that wasn't clutching Kairi's, and the two bolted.

Hot tears leaked at her eyes as Aerith panted to keep up with Lea. Where are Isa and Squall?

Aerith's thoughts were interrupted by Kairi's ear shattering scream of terror.

Lea's eyes suddenly widened in panic as he looked up at something above them. "Aerith, _MOVE_!"

Aerith's hand slipped from Lea's grip and she ducked out of the way just in time as a massive black claw slammed in-between them, engulfing a whole bookshelf in thick, inky black smoke. Aerith looked up to see a yellow-eyed creature with jagged horns looming over her.

Aerith screamed. The library was being eaten up whole by the black monsters.

Eaten up by darkness.

Lea yanked on her arm again, and they pelted out of the library. Aerith could barely focus amidst Kairi's bone shattering screams of terror, so she simply let herself focus on keeping up with Lea. Despite all of this, one question kept repeating itself over and over like a mantra in her mind.

_Where's Squall and Isa? Where's Squall and Isa? Where's—_

_"LEA! AERITH! KEEP RUNNING AND DON'T LOSE KAIRI!"_

Lea skidded short in front of the threshold to the entrance hall, despite the monsters that were creeping out from all of the doorways in the circular main hall. Aerith freaked out as Lea began to look frantically for the source of the bellowing voice.

"Lea!"

"That was Squall!" Lea protested. Kairi started hyperventilating. Aerith looked uneasily at Kairi's necklace, which was now emitting a bright yellow light that looked like it could burn Lea.

Then came Isa's voice.

_"YOU IDIOT LEA, WE'RE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!"_

Out from one of the underground doorways near the fountain came Isa and Squall. Both of them were clutching long, dangerous looking weapons. A large gash was on the bridge of Squall's nose, and it was trickling blood down his entire face. While Isa was running side by side with Squall, he was openly grimacing with every step he took, looking like he was holding onto the last threads of his stamina for dear life.

Aerith and Lea took one glance behind Squall and Isa. Whatever color was left in their faces was completely drained at the sight of rolling, inky black smoke trailing behind the boys through the door. Within seconds, the dark smoke poured out of the doorway and engulfed the fountain in darkness.

"Oh my god." Aerith's voice came out in a strangled gasp.

Kairi let out a bone-chilling scream the same time Isa screamed himself hoarse. _"RUN!"_

* * *

><p><em>AN: *Clears throat* So, I've never done anything that I thought should be placed into a sub category of 'horror' before, but as I looked up various KH videos that showed rolling clouds of darkness and various other items being eaten up by darkness, I realized that the 'horror' subcategory was appropriate. I've also never done serious tension in fics like this before where lives are actually on the line, so I really hope I captured that. I'm also not a fan of the all caps dialogue, preferring to use italics to express stronger emotions (including anger), but I thought that the situation at hand called for some caps lock usage. Reviews are awesome and greatly appreciated!  
><em>


	3. Chapter 3: Antrozorous

_A/N: Naming this (and the story) Antrozorous came from listening to this from the Batman Begins soundtrack (Hans Zimmer)._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing you see in this chapter. Nomura does - and Disney, but everything you see here is more Nomura. Massive thanks to my beta DigitalTart. _

* * *

><p>Aerith had been the first one to snap out of her shock and give Lea a massive shove, much to Squall's faint relief. That was all his redheaded friend needed. He grabbed Aerith with the free hand that wasn't clutching Kairi and ran for dear life, Squall and Isa in hot pursuit behind them.<p>

Squall didn't know how he and Isa had managed to do it, but they had successfully defeated Pete in combat, hacked their way through the multiplying masses of small black creatures and successfully escaped.

_Heartless._ That's what Pete called the black monsters. They had been found lurking the hidden corridors of the castle when he arrived with Maleficent, the witch. According to Pete, she wasn't someone to mess with. Squall initially had his doubts upon first meeting Pete, but then again—he was pretty sure that Pete wasn't the one who had blocked off their escape route in the hidden corridor. While menacing enough physically, it didn't seem like Pete had the brains to do that kind of sneaky magic. And Pete said Maleficent had managed to take control of the Heartless.

Where did they come from? A black hole in a basement lab. That's what Maleficent said when they had run into her for a brief moment.

_"Amateur knights,"_ she had sneered. Squall noticed with dread that her skin was a bright, sickly green color, and she wore black horns on the top of her head. This was the figure Aerith had seen in one of the castle windows.

_"Normally I would say that you and your dear friends are to be thanked for what I am about to do,"_ she had continued on. _"But to be honest—I was going to release the Heartless today anyway. I was just waiting...for the opportune moment."_

That didn't make Squall or Isa feel any better. They were now at the back gate that they' through, and the Heartless were gaining at an alarming rate.

Squall put on an extra burst of speed, ignoring the excruciating pain that was blossoming from his forehead from a Heartless attack. With his arms braced, he gave a shove, and everyone stumbled out of the door. They pelted down the steps and up to the edge of the gates in order to catch their breath.

"There," Isa breathed. "I shut the door."

But Aerith was staring ahead of them with a look of abject horror on her face.

"Look..."

There was a dark cloud advancing on them from outside the gate. Squall looked in the garden as dark smoke began to pour out of the trees and the flowers.

Then they started to hear screams from the town.

Lea groaned. "You're kidding me."

The group burst out of the main gate and veered towards town. Looking behind them, Squall watched, his insides freezing up at the sight of dark holes appearing on the castle walls. In the meantime, the screams became louder and louder.

And Kairi was starting to glow.

"_Help me!_" She was screaming, tears pouring down her face. Squall was never an emotional one when he saw people in distress, but in Kairi's case, this was too much.

They were approaching what was beginning to look like chaos. Dark spots on the castle were blending to make something bigger, and much, much larger Heartless were stalking the streets of the town in the distance. The dark clouds overhead were just getting larger. They stopped in front of the castle, casting dark shadows on the ground, which enabled even more Heartless to spring up from its depths while the wind started to whistle loudly and blow right in their faces.

Squall was beginning to feel helpless. "I don't think there's anywhere to run."

Isa blanched. "Are you trying to tell me we're trapped in our own home?"

"Guys, help me with Kairi!"

Even though everyone was still running, Lea was clearly freaking out, and with good reason.

Through all of Kairi's screaming and crying, she was beginning to resemble a supernova. The closer they got to the front courtyard of the castle, the brighter she became. Isa was yelling for Lea to let go of her, Aerith was crying and urging Lea to give Kairi to her, Squall was yelling at them to turn the opposite direction, Lea was starting to hyperventilate under the pressure of everyone yelling, and Kairi was now letting out blood curdling screams for her grandmother.

Then everyone was blinded by the brightest flash of light that Squall had ever seen.

They screamed. Lea yelled and was thrown backwards into Squall, sending his gun blade flying out of his immediate reach.

By the time everyone had recovered, Aerith let out a cry of horror.

Kairi was gone.

Isa pointed to a flash of light that was sailing upwards into the blackened sky and out of sight. "Look!"

Suddenly, Lea dove and shoved Isa out of the way as a giant Heartless nearly snatched at him with a large claw. Isa, in turn, yanked Lea away before the claw could take Lea into the dark depths.

Aerith rushed over to the group, to help them up. Squall staggered back to his feet, only to make a dive for his gun blade when another giant Heartless reached to grab it. He rolled and ducked the grabs the Heartless made at him, only to be yanked upward, gripped at the ankle by one of its claws.

Squall swung wildly at the Heartless's arm as the blood rushed to his head. The screams of the members of the city were blowing through his ears like a siren, making his head pound. There was also a sudden increase in of cold that abruptly exploded inside his heart, growing tighter and tighter.

He gritted his teeth and took another swing. An animal roar echoed through his ears as he found himself falling headfirst with nothing but the darkening concrete to welcome him with open arms. Squall twisted to his side midair and braced himself for the fall. A sickening crunch came attention to his ears, followed by an immediate explosion of pain. He winced, clutching his shoulder as he staggered to his his feet with his gun blade in his free hand.

Things had gotten worse during the short time Squall was battling the giant Heartless. He watched helplessly with abject horror as a massive dark orb of crackling energy filled the sky and made the wind unbearable. Trees, bits and pieces of the fountains in the two courtyards floated past him to join whole houses that were being sucked up into the horrible orb in the sky. Squall's nerves led him to duck as a fraction of the castle sailed narrowly over his head, only to crumple to dust a few moments later.

Squall struggled to move against the wind, unable to spot Lea, Isa, or Aerith. He looked around him as people found themselves lifting into the sky to meet the orb, and some of those people were ones that he knew.

Like his girlfriend.

Squall gave a panicked yell at the sight of Rinoa being lifted by the wind. An apprentice under the resident wizard Merlin, She was in the middle of attempting to unleash a gravity spell around her in a panic. He was lucky enough to catch her arms to try and pull her down, her gravity spell adding extra weight for him in the process. Her brown eyes showed a sense of panicked relief at the sight of him, and she clawed at his arms in a vain attempt to gain a tighter grip on him. Her spell was bringing her closer to the ground, but her feet had yet to touch the trembling surface beneath them.

He could barely make out her voice among the screams and the howl of the wind. She was saying something to him, but he couldn't catch what it was. He had her by one arm. Realizing that he had his gun blade in the other, he tossed it soundlessly aside so Rinoa could grab the other arm. He really didn't care what happened to it at this point.

"Just hold onto me, ok? We'll find a way to get out of here—I know some forms of graviga, hold on -"

"_SQUALL!_"

Rinoa's scream came right before an unidentifiable heavy weight wrapped around his legs with thick tendrils and pulled, instantly numbing his legs with ice cold. With a shallow gasp, Squall found himself waist deep in what could only be described in a pool of darkness.

Only one thought went through his mind. _I'm going to die._

Rinoa's gravity spell was finally working. She gripped his jacket tightly out of panic to make sure he wasn't lost to the darkness, and her feet landed lightly right at the edge of of the dark pool.

Squall wondered if his girlfriend had gone insane. "Are you nuts?" he hissed.

She just responded back with a fierce glare and wrapped her arms around his midsection, forcing her body to touch as much of the ground as it could. "I'm getting you out of here."

"I'll help you!"

The two of them looked up to find Zack Fair. He was bruised and had scratches on his face, but his bright blue eyes held a fierce determination. He looked at Squall, then at Rinoa. Close up, Squall realized that Zack looked to be closer to his own sixteen years of age than he had previously thought.

Zack had his sword latched onto his back. He bent down and wrapped his arms around Squall's midsection. "On my command, pull!"

It took Squall two heaves to pitch him out of the pool of darkness. But in turn, Rinoa's foot slipped, and she pitched headfirst into the pool and out of sight before either he or Zack had enough time to react.

_Oh no_. Bile traveled up his throat and he lunged at the spot where Rinoa was previously, only to find Zack holding him back and shouting something incomprehensible in his ear. _No no no no no!_

Zack wasn't getting it. He was shoving Squall away from the growing pool of darkness. How dare Zack hold him back! His girlfriend was down there! Didn't Zack find someone to love amidst his giggling troupe of idiot fans? Rinoa was one of the few good things that ever happened to Squall, and there was no way in hell that she was going to die in a pool of darkness.

But Zack was still pulling him away from where Rinoa fell. A loud crack echoed through his ears, and the two of them looked down to see that a long crevice was beginning to develop in the middle of the courtyard. It grew and grew up to the point where it split wide to open up a yawning cavern of nothing but pitch black. The poor people that were caught on the fault line fell right in.

Zack and Squall were on the same side, and backed away as far from the edge as they could until they both stepped on something long and thick.

Squall looked down and stared. It was the gun blade he picked up at the castle. What was it doing there? Why didn't it take the place of Rinoa? Why didn't Zack just let them both fall if Rinoa was going to vanish anyway?

At least he'd be with her.

Zack noticed Squall staring at the gun blade on the ground and looked warily at him. "Now wait a second here—"

Squall picked up the handle and eyed a giant monster nearby, his mind racing. Ignoring Zack's attempts to calm him down, he gave a roar and charged, completely unaware that Zack had taken off after him in hot pursuit.

His fight didn't last long. However, with a few hacks and slashes, and the monster vanished in a puff of smoke, falling right through him.

He gave a shallow gasp as a feeling of utter cold washed over him. Am I dying? He wondered vaguely before faintly sensing a warm grip on his arm coupled with the sound of a loud buzzing engine in his ears. A new man was with them, and he was talking to Zack.

"I got him—"

"Are you sure? The monster fell right through him!"

"Yep, I'm sure. Get in the ship."

"But—"

"Fair, get in the ship. You've done what you can for this city, I don't want to see a little hero like you fall in one of these giant black puddles after all you did. Now go!"

Squall was led away mindlessly by a pair of strong hands as he gripped tightly on the holster of his gun blade. He was vaguely aware of the ground elevating as he walked and then leveling out, followed by hushed voices and sobs, punctured with a few gasps. Where they looking at him? How badly was he injured?

Squall struggled to regain focus as he could feel himself sitting down. His vision was blurred as he started to shiver.

"Is there anyone else out there?" The man's voice was scratchy and sounded vaguely familiar to Squall.

"No, I don't think so, Cid," the man that had guided him into the ship with Zack responded.

"I'm sure there are people out there if we looked a little harder." Squall recognized Zack's voice as he protested. What if I—"

"Sit down Fair!" One of the men growled.

"Lock the doors and buckle up!" Cid barked. "We're leaving before the darkness can suck us in!"

The sound of an engine roaring to life whistled loudly in his ears, coupled with the fresh wails of people all around him. The ship began to shake wildly with turbulence. Someone had wrapped a warm blanket around him. He gripped it loosely, letting his gun blade fall to the ground with a clang.

That apparently got the attention of a lot of people around him.

"Hey, is that—"

"It is!"

Squall had no idea that he was this popular in Radiant Garden. As his vision slowly came back, various people that he recognized from both school and the Guard training program looked relieved to see him. Some of them started asking him a number of questions that Squall did not have the mental capacity to answer. He did however, become alert at a young voice calling his name.

"Squall?"

A child's face came sharply into view. Auburn hair pulled up, bangs, a ribbon, worried green eyes.

"A-Aerith?" he croaked.

Aerith's eyes welled with fresh tears. "You're alive! Oh, everyone was so worried!"

He looked around him to find a motley crew of just over two-dozen people, all in various states of disarray. Most of them where huddled up against each other and wearing blank gazes of shock on their faces. Some of them were crying. Squall noticed a girl younger than Aerith, wearing a yellow scarf around her forehead, gazing out at the window, angry tears streaming silently down her face. An older woman came over to comfort her when she started to quake. One thing that stood out, however, was that Isa, Lea, and Rinoa were not among the people on the ship.

Squall's panic started to grow, despite a small voice telling him sharply that he had seen Rinoa fall into a pool of darkness himself.

"Where," he took a shaky breath. "Where are – "

Aerith knew exactly who he was talking about. Squall's anxiety levels spiked upon seeing Aerith's eyes well up with fresh tears, and she moved closer to Squall so he could hear her against the turbulence the ship was currently encountering.

"Th-those m-monsters," Aerith stammered out as tears started to slide down her face. "Th-the b-big ones, th-that were in the library, o-one of th-them grabbed me, and I-I-Isa, he s-saved me." Aerith voice was cracking as she told her story. Some of the people closest to them were listening with a sympathetic ear. "W-we were f-found by V-Vincent," Aerith gestured in the general direction of Vincent Valentine, who was sitting at the co-pilot seat up front. Zack Fair was standing in between Cid and Vincent's seats, talking with the both of them. Squall ignored the fact that Cid and Vincent appeared to be driving into nothing but pitch black and focused quickly back on Aerith.

"What happened after that?" Squall's voice was rough and unrecognizable to his ears.

Aerith's bottom lip trembled, and her tears came down harder. Squall tried to ignore the churning in his gut. "The big monsters, they," she gave a small wail. "They were everywhere! They grabbed Isa and pulled him down a tunnel, and Lea, he, he—"

Squall felt ill. He knew Lea too well, and he knew how Aerith's story was about to end. "Lea chased after Isa," he finished hoarsely for her.

Aerith nodded and she let out a louder, longer sob before falling to her knees. Squall caught her by the arm just as the ship jumped from the turbulence. "Vincent had to carry me," she whimpered. "So we could run faster to the ship."

Then Aerith broke down completely. Squall numbly drew her up and let the girl hug her tightly as she sobbed.

Squall stared out blankly into the distance as the ship shook, and Aerith sobbed in his arms. He barely heard Cid bark out to Zack to calm the increasingly frightened passengers as him and Vincent navigated the ship.

Isa. Lea. Rinoa. Squall couldn't say he was surprised in the slightest that Lea had followed Isa into the dark tunnel. Squall knew Lea had no real weapons to speak of. He had hand to hand combat training skills under his belt, but his favored bomb frisbees were absolutely no match whatsoever to the dark monsters that they had just faced. The only ghost of a chance that Lea had to free Isa was Isa's claymore that he had grabbed from the armory with Squall in the castle.

_What would have happened after that?_ Squall wondered to himself miserably. _That just leaves them stuck in a dark tunnel. That could be the reason why so many monsters kept coming. They came through the dark tunnels._

Then there was Rinoa. _Why couldn't I have followed Rinoa the same way Lea followed Isa?_ The question tore at him emotionally. _Was I a coward to not follow my girlfriend into the darkness?_

He replayed the scene over and over in his mind, only to come to the conclusion that everything had simply happened too fast. He had no time to react. But reacting to danger and chaos is what Radiant Garden's guards are trained to do, Squall reasoned to himself. Yet, elite guards were training Squall with his gun blade. Aeleus and. Dilan were perfect examples of that. Even Braig had run Squall through some exercises during the training program. Not only that, but all three of them were professors that had educated Radiant Garden's youth before they had vanished. He had all of them as teachers. What would they say about him not going after Rinoa?

_Their opinion doesn't matter,_ a voice inside Squall's head immediately chided him. _They helped unleash the monsters that destroyed everything you knew. They're not the good people they made themselves out to be._

Squall's thoughts were immediately broken by the hand of a boy younger than him lightly touching Aerith's shoulder. Aerith, who had been working on calming herself down, lifted up her head to see who had touched her. Her face immediately relaxed.

The boy was a little older than her, with spiky blonde hair and striking clear blue eyes. He looked at Aerith worriedly, and sported a few cuts on his face.

Squall was not in the mood to be polite as he said, rather rudely, "Who're you?"

Aerith looked relieved that the subject seemed to change. "Oh, this is—"

"Cloud." The boy's voice sounded like it was suffering from the unsteadiness of puberty. His eyes showed that he was taken aback by Squall's rudeness, and had hesitated slightly when giving his name. He scooted towards Aerith a little more protectively than before. Aerith slowly untangled herself from Squall's arms, and Cloud helped her stand steadily on her feet. The ship was still flying into nothing but darkness.

But Squall didn't really care that much. "How'd you make it up here?"

The blonde boy gestured to where Zack was talking to Vincent Valentine, and a blonde woman that looked a little bit like Cloud. "Zack saved my mother and I from one of those monsters."

Squall had a sudden urge to slice up Zack's face with his new weapon, and then pitch him headfirst into the darkness.

_So he could save a mom and a kid with a cracking voice and not my girlfriend? What about Isa and Lea? Couldn't he save Isa and bring him and Lea on the ship?_

"Excuse me," Squall muttered, and he rose from his seat. He strode towards Zack and then proceeded to pin him against one of the walls of the ship.

The ship's occupants were immediately in an uproar. Squall felt multiple hands yank him off of a stunned Zack, before he could even draw back his arm and throw the first punch. Vincent Valentine, who had left his co-pilot seat to restrain Squall, effortlessly wrenched Squall's hands around his back and shoved him to his knees.

"You ungrateful little brat!" Vincent's rasped in a hiss. "Fair saved the lives of over_ half_ of the people on this ship including your own, and that's how you thank him?"

"Vincent, please stop!"

Both of Squall and Vincent looked up to see a tearful Aerith rushing to Squall's side. She pleaded to Vincent. "He didn't mean it, he's grieving like all of us."

Cloud, who had rushed to Aerith's side, looked aghast at what Aerith was saying. The blond woman that Zack had been previously talking to came over to Cloud's side and put a gentle hand on his shoulder, confirming Squall's previous suspicions that this was indeed Cloud's mother.

Vincent merely raised an eyebrow at Aerith. "He's lost as much as everyone else. That doesn't give him the right to assault Zack."

"I-I know." Aerith blearily rubbed her eyes, which were now rimmed red. "Just let him go, please. The two boys we saw disappear—they were Squall's friends. And his girlfriend, Rinoa—"

"She's not on the ship." Squall's voice bit out harshly. "I saw her fall." Tears blurred his vision.

The people that were listening on the ship gasped in horror. Cloud's mother clasped her free hand over her mouth, tears filling her eyes. Squall looked up at Cloud's mother in confusion before he realized that everyone in Radiant Garden knew Merlin, and thus knew Rinoa as well. "I'm so sorry," Cloud's mother whispered. "She was such a sweet girl."

Squall's breathing picked up as the ship rocked. He felt like his insides were lodged at the bottom of his throat as more tears gathered in the corner of his eyes. Some people gave out small cries as the ship gave a lurch. Cid turned round in his seat and scowled. "Let Rinoa's boy go, Valentine, Fair can deal with him. Get back in your seat and help me steer the damn ship."

Squall whirled around wildly at the words Rinoa's boy. His voice came out as a labored and scratchy gasp. Before he could bite back at Cid, Zack came forward and grabbed Squall firmly by the arm.

"Squall—"

"_Don't touch me!_" Squall snarled.

Zack immediately let go of him, and held up both of his hands in surrender while Vincent went back to his seat and immediately engaged in conversation with Cid about the status of the ship.

Cloud's mother stepped forward tentatively. "Squall, would you like to come sit with us?" Her eyes were a darker shade of blue than her son's, and she looked genuinely worried and concerned for him.

_I guess there's no other option for me_, he thought to himself as gave a shrug and a half nod. Cloud looked like he was about to say something, but a pleading look from both his mother and Aerith led the younger teenage boy to shut his mouth and mutter something incoherent. Squall fought viciously to keep from breaking down and crying as he wearily went over and grabbed the gun blade, letting it sit by his side as he slid into a corner of the ship with Aerith, Cloud, and Cloud's mother. Zack positioned himself a few feet away from them, his eyes sweeping around the ship before letting them land on Squall's gun blade for a few seconds longer than usual.

Normally, Squall wasn't one to openly show emotion. But he couldn't think. He couldn't comprehend it. Everything he had ever known was gone. He could barely breathe properly, his mind swimming with images of Rinoa, and how sudden her death was. In his nightmares, she would always reach out for him, screaming and crying out his name.

But this time? In real life? She didn't make a sound. He didn't even register the look on her face before she died. She had been nothing but a peripheral flash of bright blue and white that had slipped out of his grip before he could even think.

Squall barely registered the second lurch the ship gave as he let himself drown in his own thoughts. His right hand gripped the holster of the gun blade, and he only registered the continuing turbulence with a few gasps. He squeezed his eyes shut to prevent the tears from falling, but his body wasn't listening to him. Lea had chased after Isa and into the darkness. Knowing Lea, he didn't even have to think twice.

_Why couldn't I do the same for Rinoa?_ Squall put his head in his hands before letting a strangled sob escape his mouth. _Why?_

The ride was one of the rockiest trips on a form of fast transport that Squall had ever endured in his life. The ship rocked and trembled as Cid and Vincent navigated through the darkness, and miraculously, looked like they knew where they were going. At one point, Squall had looked at the front window after he heard some screams from other passengers, and saw a handful of dark creatures flying right at Cid and Vincent. Cid hollered at the monsters and unleashed a barrage of curses while gunfire erupted from the sides of the ship, courtesy of Vincent. Zack ended up spending most of his time comforting the passengers and securing them as the ship tilted from side to side. Finally, mercifully, the ship quieted down. Everyone fell silent for a few moments, before someone looked up at the windows, looking surprised at what they saw.

"Look!" The passenger suddenly gasped. "We're in space!"

Everyone looked properly out of the window for the first time and gaped in awe. Surrounding them was nothing but a blanket of stars in the dark sky. The turbulence had died out, and everyone could now hear themselves talk.

"Well I'll be," Cid mused. "We made it."

"Now we just have to find a place to land," Vincent pointed out quickly before anyone could even think about feeling any relief. He then started muttering to Cid, and the two became engaged in a low conversation that Squall couldn't pick up.

Squall said nothing to anyone as he looked out at the blanket of stars surrounding the ship. He let himself drown in his thoughts again. No one bothered him as stared out of the window and into space. The ship stayed silent, except for the murmurs of Cid and Vincent in the cockpit and Zack quietly talking to some of the passengers.

A large amount of time had passed before Zack spoke up from the other side of the ship, opposite to where Squall was standing. "Hey, is that a world out there?"

Squall looked in the direction Zack was pointing. A few people got up from where they were either sitting or standing and moved towards Zack. The ship was getting closer to an oddly shaped bright light. Upon further inspection, the odd shapes were starting to look more like buildings the closer the ship traveled to the light.

A small girl younger than Aerith adjusted the yellow bandanna on her head and stood next to Zack, standing on the tips of her toes to look out the window. Squall recognized her from earlier. It was the first time she had moved during the entire flight. "I think it is a world!" Her voice was hoarse from crying as it croaked out in awe. "This is kind of cool!" She looked up at Zack and gave a weak little half smile.

Zack grinned and ruffled the girl's hair lightly. "It is, isn't it?"

"Huh," Cid said, looking rather surprised. "Looks like you're right, Fair. It's another world."

"A pretty small one," Vincent muttered. Squall could detect small buildings dotting the world. He couldn't make out what the buildings looked like.

"It's still a world." Cid grunted. "We've got less than two gallons of fuel left to keep us going. Prepare to land on my command."

* * *

><p>The world was a sleepy town that reminded Squall of Radiant Garden at night. The rows of buildings were built the same way. Squall walked down the ramp of the ship and immediately strode down the street that lay directly ahead of him, not really caring where he was going.<p>

"Where do you think you're going?" Vincent' eyes narrowed at Squall as he strode past.

"I'm scoping out the town," Squall responded tonelessly. "I've got a weapon. I should make sure there aren't any of those monsters here." The response was a white lie. He was looking for a place to be alone, but he had every intention on making sure the monsters that destroyed Radiant Garden weren't lurking in this sleepy little town as well.

"See if you can find whomever is in charge of this place," Vincent said.

"Will do," Squall called back as he proceeded to walk down the street and out of sight.

The cobblestone street Squall was on led out into a village square. The relief that swept through Squall as he saw two or three people roaming the streets was temporary, as he immediately recognized one of the dark tunnels that had blended in with the rest of the chaotic scenery while his world was torn to pieces by the darkness.

Squall broke out into a run. He gripped the gun blade with both of his hands as he charged into the square, ignoring the gasps and the screams that the small amount of people gave out that did notice him. By the time he arrived in the middle of the square however, the dark tunnel shrunk and vanished before his eyes, leaving two small metal monsters in its wake. Squall cleaved through both of them mindlessly.

"You know, I don't know if the tunnels are all that bad. I think it led us to this place."

Squall whirled around, positioning his gun blade for an attack as he searched for the source of the male voice. He instead, found himself staring at two painfully familiar figures sprawled out on the steps in front of him that led to the square. One of them had red hair, and the other one had blue.

Squall felt his pulse jump as Lea lifted up an arm to give a weak wave at him, followed by a weary grin. He was covered in an assortment of large cuts and bruises. His clothes were torn, and his familiar striped and checkered scarf was wrapped around his left shoulder, completely bloodied from what looked to be a very nasty wound. Isa was leaning on Lea, looking just as beaten and bruised. His claymore lay limply at his side.

"Lo, Squall." It was Lea that had first spoken up.

Isa picked up his head and registered Squall's presence. He gave a small, tired half smile. "Hey there. Looks like you made it out better than we did."

Squall's gun blade fell to the cobblestone ground in complete shock. He then realized that dropping his gun blade wasn't such a smart idea and snatched it back before it could hit the ground, and he strode towards his two friends. They were still there. Lea's scarf didn't only look completely bloody, but it also looked very tattered, like it had been torn to shreds.

"Aerith thought you were dead," he croaked out. He crouched in front of them, placing his gun blade safely on the ground next to him. His legs gave out from both physical and emotional exhaustion instead, and he dropped to the ground, sitting at the foot of the stairs. The stairs were short, and Lea and Isa were sitting near the bottom of them.

"This idiot," Isa wearily said as he swung a bloodied finger at Lea. "Went after me down a dark tunnel without a weapon. Nothing whatsoever. He had chucked his bomb frisbees at one of the monsters that had Aerith, and the damn thing absorbed them before it decided that it didn't want her anymore."

Lea snorted, not having the energy to argue like he normally would. "You gave me your sword."

Isa gave a weak laugh and his head slumped onto Lea's uninjured shoulder. Lea winced, but didn't say anything. "You're lucky I grabbed one at the castle."

"So you freed Isa with his claymore," Squall supplied, running a hand through his hair.

"Yup," Lea popped the 'p' as he spoke. "Turns out I'm not as bad with a sword as I'd previously thought."

"Then what happened?" Squall asked.

"We ran." Isa's voice became weary at the memory. "We ran. I fought with my sword. Lea hit, he swatted, he kicked. Swatting was a good bet. Running was his best bet."

"Running was also your best bet too," Lea pointed out quietly.

"Yeah," Isa agreed, and gestured to his legs. "I'm pretty sure something is either broken or sprained."

Both of them looked like they were going to pass out at any moment, and they were clearly using as much energy as they could to talk. "What happened after that?" Squall asked. "Was there some sort of light leading to here?"

Lea looked uneasily at Isa, who grew somber. "We saw a light." Isa said quietly. "But we both blacked out before we could walk all of the way through. Then we opened our eyes, and we ended up here, in the middle of the square."

"There are other people that have traveled the same way as us," Lea said. "Not all of them were able to make it. I tried to help a few that came out of the dark tunnel you were running at a few moments ago. Six came through that thing. Half of them survived. Isa would have joined me but—"

"I couldn't move," Isa added. "What about you Squall?"

"Cid was building an experimental gummi ship." Squall said quietly. "Zack Fair and Vincent Valentine were helping people onto the ship. They got me. They got Aerith just as you guys got pulled into the tunnel."

Lea nodded. "What about Rinoa?"

Silence enveloped between the three of them. The remaining amount of color that was left in Isa's face vanished. "You're kidding." He blanched. "She's _gone_?"

_Oh yeah._ Squall realized vaguely to himself. _Rinoa was friends with Isa and Lea too._ _She was closer to Isa._ Squall sighed heavily, and suddenly, he became unable to speak. He opened his mouth, only to find that the words died on his lips, and something lodged itself in its throat.

Isa, in a surprising gesture of empathy, slid himself down the stairs, wincing the entire way. Lea joined him by default. In the distance, he could hear the crowd of people he came with finally empty into the square.

"Forget it," Squall said gruffly. He didn't think he needed any comfort, because something had been slowly occurring to him as he listened to Isa and Lea's tale. If Isa and Lea had managed to make it to this strange new world through a dark corridor, then there was hope for Rinoa to reappear.

There was Kairi, of course. Little, sweet, and eager Kairi. Squall was never one to be sentimental, but the way Aerith, Lea, Isa, and himself watched Kairi erupt and vanish like a literal supernova was downright frightening, especially because Kairi was nothing short of terrified. Yet, at the same time, he had a feeling that Kairi was alive. She was safe. He had a feeling that she was not only safe, but that she was perhaps, the safest one out of the entire group. Kairi's necklace had some of the strangest powers he had ever witnessed, and he found himself wondering if the way Kairi had exited from Radiant Garden was not an accident, and if someone had, in fact, prepared for something horrible like all of this to happen.

_Perhaps I should ask Zack about the blue-haired woman he met on his home planet,_ Squall mused briefly. _It sounds like Zack and Kairi met the same person._

Squall had to believe that there was still a chance for Rinoa to reappear. Any other option that was in the negative was a deadly one for him. But Squall was never an optimistic person. He was always cautious, always logical, never jumping to conclusions. Rinoa was dead. Squall witnessed her fall himself.

However, if he imagined that she simply had fallen into a dark corridor, that she could get herself out of with her skills in magic, then he realized that he started to feel something akin to relief as he watched Cid, Vincent, and the other passengers finally emerge from a path around the corner. That relief grew when Aerith let out a strangled cry at the sight of Isa and Lea and rushed over to their side, her emotions bubbling over with relief and joy (and abject horror at their injuries, promptly calling Cloud's mother over in hopes that both of them could help patch Squall's friends up).

Relief, unfortunately, was also close to denial when it came to Rinoa, but as Squall was beckoned over by Cid, Vincent, and Zack for a talk, Squall really couldn't care. Ignorance was blissful for him if it meant he could survive.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Oh Leon. Anyway, I hope I got his characterization right.<em>

_I'm aware that Squall-Leon is classified as a surly asshole, and I wanted to show that with the way he was ready to rip Zack's head off in the ship. He's also grieving, so I wanted to show that too. I noticed that in the games he did indeed yell and show emotion in public._

_I want to explain my idea on Isa and Lea. One of the things that stuck out to me in BBS was that their pixilated selves are significantly younger than their nobody counterparts. I'm no professional artist, but I do know that one of the trick to drawing people older is to elongate their faces, correct? And until Nomura says otherwise, nobodies can't age. This has led me to conclude that Isa and Lea would have to have managed to survive the fall of Radiant Garden, and then lost their hearts in some other manner when they were a few years older. I'll be writing about those two in Traverse Town in the immediate future. I'm a big fan of being very linear, so their encounter in the dark corridor will probably be briefly reflected in a flashback in a future fic. Don't expect them to have escaped with just physical cuts and bruises either. I love the idea of gradual phases and transitions, which is why Squall is still Squall, Isa's claymore is supposed to look pretty plain, and Lea has yet to get his chakrams (but those are coming super soon in the next fic that I'm writing).  
><em>

_I've never written horror like this before, and I hope I got the detail and the high tensions right. Any thoughts, criticisms etc in reviews are very appreciated._


End file.
